Dread Tread: Unknown Affiliation
Introduction The morning sun slowly rose over the hills as many from the village were out and about doing their normal routines. In the Sabertooth guild, the sounds of sizziling could be heard throughout it's empty halls as the three members woke up and started to smell something wonderful. Sting came into the dining hall sleepily, rubbing his eye as he followed the heavenly scent. Rufus soon followed him (rather groggily.) They came in to find Minerva preparing a large breakfast for them. Bacon was frying, eggs were being scrambled, there was even fresh orange juice and coffee. "W-wow," was all that Sting could manage through the waterfall of saliva dripping from his mouth. "Good morning all, how did you all sleep?" Minerva said as the two were shocked to see what was in front of them. The new Minerva was wearing normal clothing as she was cooking, no fancy clothing or attire, but actual normal clothing. "Well don't just stand there, go ahead and chow down, there's plenty for everyone". Sting and Rufus almost dove into the bounty, but then they heard a strange sound. It was a fast-paced beating noise, like metal on stone, and it was getting closer. Minerva looked at them questioningly. Sting and Rufus looked at each other in much the same way. Then the source of the noise came bursting into the room. "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" bellowed Patty as she leaped over the heads of her guild-mates and began diminishing the plentiful breakfast. "Well, you weren't kidding about her loving food, good thing I made quite a bit for everyone" She said finishing the last of the cooking and putting the plates on the table as she sat down and began to eat herself while the others were eating their fill. "Uh, ya know Minerva, you didn't have to do all this for us you know," said Sting, who was strangely a bit hesitant to eat so much delicious food, "After all, you're our guest." "Well I figured I'd have a debt to repay for the way you guys saved me" Minerva said with a big smile on her face. "Well, if you insist..." said Sting, then, following Patty's example, happily dove into the breakfast as well, with Rufus close behind. "Haha, my goodness, it's as if you guys haven't eaten in weeks, I better go prepare some more food" She said getting the apron on again, and heading into the kitchen to whip up another patch of food to make sure they got nice and full. "Still doubting her Patty?" asked Sting as he ate. Patty munched on a roll and gave him a warning shriek like some sort of wild animal in response. "I doubt Minerva wants to hurt us," said Rufus, "She's had the time you two ran into each other before Patty came, when you guys were leaving to come back here, when we were defending her and our backs were turned to her, when we were carrying her back to the guild, and the entire night to kill us, and this morning to poison our food." Minerva came back with another few helpings as she used Territory to transport them onto the table and the empty ones in her arms to go and wash them. Rufus's suggestion of the food being poisoned soon melted away as the three continued to eat all the delicious food in front of them. "So Minerva, what's your plans from here on anyway?" asked Sting through a mouthful of food. She stopped washing before putting the last of the dishes into their respective area as they noticed the tension in the atmosphere, "Well I need to head into town to pick up the package right now, so why don't you guys finish and I'll meet you guys later" Minerva said taking off her apron before heading out the doors. "Uh, okay, see ya later then," called Sting after her. Then, all of a sudden, Patty ceased eating, gingerly wiped her mouth with a napkin, and looked at Sting in her 'You're-about-to-do-something-you-don't-want-to-but-will-anyway-cuz-I-said-so' look, "I think we both know what we have to do." "No." "Yes," she grinned, "She's acting super suspicious, we have to see what's up, and Rufus agrees with me, don't you Rufus?" The young mage was just about to swallow when he realized he'd made a fatal mistake. Patty had backed him into a corner. "Well... Given the circumstance's.....I'd have to sort of agree..." Rufus said with a gulp as Patty grinned while Sting facepalmed himself. "So it's decided. Over the river and through the woods, to spy on Minerva we go!" sang Patty gleefully as she dragged her two guild-mates out the door in the direction Minerva had gone not five minutes before. The Shadow's Breath Minerva found herself in the hidden part of the forest, looking over her shoulder as she went further and further into it, only to be unaware of the small group following her as Sabertooh kept track of her with the use of Sting's nose. "How ironic," whispered Patty devilishly, "The tigress is now the mouse and we're the cats." Eventually, they found Minerva standing in a door as she knocked three times, seeing an old man open it, allowing her in. The three stared at each other, than back at the door. "You don't think...?" Began Sting. "Nah... couldn't be..." replied Rufus. "Shh!" said Patty harshly. The two young men peered back around the rock they'd been hiding behind just in time to see three strange looking mages approaching the door. One of them was a pale young man with lime-green hair in a bowl-cut, and another one looked like she could be his twin sister, with the same green hair in a nearly identical fashion. The man walking between them was obviously their boss. He had similar green hair, but his was more of a minty shade. He has also a hulking mass of a man when compared to his two companions, and had dark skin. When he smiled he revealed wolfish fangs. "Rega," the girl stepped forward, "Rugo," the boy did the same, "Get this door outta my way," he ordered. "Yes, Lord Nawaka," they said in unison. The boy started charging a form of black energy into his hand as he was about to blast the door to smitheren's, but was stopped by a white light that hit his back as they looked over to see Sting and the others revealing themselves. "Who are these fools?" The leader asked as they glared at them. "We're Sabertooth, Mint-Mane," declared Sting enthusiastically, "And our friends in there. No way we're letting you in there." The boy, Rugo, stood back up and joined his sister, "Lord Nawaka, let us handle them, you go forward. The artifact will be a key factor in Mal de Vida's role in the war." "Mal de Vida?!" exclaimed Patty, "You guys are with that Bisone creep and Hyenna dude." "Patty, who are these guys?" asked Sting. "Mal de Vida is an evil organization that hardly anyone knows anything about. I faced one of their members with a friend of mine a while back. They're bad news." "I see, I had heard that someone like that tried to interfere, and it seems that they did not finish the job properly" The Leader said glaring at his two young helpers, "No matter, keep them busy, I must enter to grab the tablet" He said walking towards the door. Patty and Sting lunged at him but were swiftly cut off by Rega and Rugo. Nawaka disappeared into the doorway. Suddenly a fiery black sphere of energy formed in Rugo's hand which he sequentially threw at Team Sabertooth, only for it to be intercepted by a pillar of white energy and ice shards. "Steeple in a Blizzard," chanted Rufus, "Sting, head in and stop that guy. He's too much for Minerva to handle on her own and if I have a feeling whatever they're after they shouldn't get. Patty and I can handle these two." Sting looked over to see a powerful explosions emerge from the house as the group saw Minerva had switched herself and the man she met with two large bolders as she was breathing heavily as the man simply dusted off his shoulders and looked at Minerva. "Well, I must admit, you have surprised me greatly to use such a powerful magic" The Leader said glaring at her as she attempted to throw back one of the boulders with him easily breaking it in half before destroying another bolder shot right at him. Sting stepped into the house and immediately activated his "White Drive," causing Nawaka and Minerva to both take notice of him. "Minerva, we can only defeat him if we work together, you game?" he asked. She looked at the old man, who was unconsious, and moved him somewhere safe and kept the placed on him, as she looked back. "Let's do this" She said concentrating her magic around the area around her, causing a sort of gravity that put pressure around the area. Sting lunged at Nawaka. White claws extended from the tips of his fingers "White Dragon's Spear Claw," he said, thrusting his hand at the Dark Mage, only for Nawaka to swiftly dodge it despite his large build. The villain pointed his middle and index finger at Sting and released a green blast of energy, "Cursed Bullet." Minerva managed to switch Sting with a large bolder that was pierced by the green bullet, as she them sent out a barrage of rocks at super high speeds at him. Nawaka intercepted them by shooting a volley of bullets, causing each rock to explode. Sting was about to attack again before he noticed something peculiar about the rocks Nawaka had shot. They all had a sickeningly green aura around them, and they seemed to be twisting. If rocks writhed in pain, Sting was sure this is what it would look like. "This is dangerous, I can sense the malice this person has, the magic is Death Magic" She said with a serious tone as she created a special membrane barrier around the old man and the tablet, "That should keep him safe while we deal with this man" She said with a glare. "Right," said Sting, "I think he may be using Bullet Magic in conjunction with his Death Magic. That's a dangerous combo, so be on your toes." And with that Sting attacked Nawaka once again, with Minerva ready to shield him from any on-coming attacks. "White Dragon's Punch!" he said, landing a firm blow on Nawaka that propelled him through the back wall of the building. "Don't get too close to him! He grabs you and you won't survive!" Minerva yelled as she was on her toes, ready to strike when she could. "I know that!" said Sting, who was comically annoyed even at a serious time like this, "White Dragon's Roar!" A beam of white light erupted from his mouth, temporarily blocking Nawaka's line of sight. "Now Minerva!" Minerva quickly surrounded a small area of rubble as she manipulated them and sent them high into the air before sending them down to slam onto the leader. The attack crashed into the Dark Mage, causing a small explosion. Unfortunately, when the smoke cleared, Nawaka seemd virtually unharmed. Surrounding him were a swarm of small blue bullets that had taken most of the hit. "Damn, he is one powerful mage, we need to think of a different strategy Sting, and quickly. I don't know how much longer I can keep this gravity up" She said starting to get tired from using her magic two different ways. Sting glanced back at Minerva, than to the opponent in from of him. He set his jaw, "I have an idea. When I give the signal, blast him!" Sting charged Nawaka head on, but at the last second, launched himself to the right, then forward again, "Holy Blast," he said, firing an orb of light at Nawaka, followed by another roar attack. Nawaka shifted his bullet shield to guard him, but once he'd avoided the attack Sting was right in front of him, this time in Dragon Force. "White Dragon Sacred Art: Heavenly Ray Obliteration!" A flash of light erupted from Sting's body, binding Nawaka, "Now!" Minerva focused as much energy as she could muster, charging up to use a powerful spell as suddenly two guardians appeared next to the leader, "Yagdo Rigora!!" The guardians both summoned a powerful piller of light as they hit the leader. Nawaka was launched backward several yards. Over on the other side of the house Rugo and Rega ceased fighting Patty and Rufus when they saw their leader defeated. Quickly, they picked him up and said, "Don't count on this being the last time you brats see us!" And with that, they were gone. "Phew, I was hoping that spell would work" She said breathing heavily. When she didn't hear a reply Minerva looked up to see all three of her friends giving her strange looks. "You've got some explaining to do before you can talk so casually with us again," said Patty with an icy tone. "Please do not be mad at her, it was my fault she came" The old man said coming to them as he put down the package in front of them. "The reason I came was to destroy this..." She said as the old man revealed a tablet with ancient writing. The three Sabertooth mages felt like they should've been in awe, but, well, they had no idea what exactly they were looking at, so they just stared at the tablet ignorantly as Minerva explained further. "This tablet, is known as the Genoshian Arcaina, one of the most legendary tablets in all of Genosha, and is known for having great magical powers. It is known that whoever uses this tablet will die and change their homeland to become an identical Genosha" She said looking at them with seriousness. "..." was the only response the trio could muster at first. Finally Patty said meekly, "Uh... that's a big pile of not good. So, if those dudes were to get their hands on it, they could've..." she didn't need to finish the sentence. "Yes, I'm sorry for deciving you, but this mission was very important and I could not risk the lives of my former guild, even if no one liked me at the time" She said looking at them with a sad look on her face. "What are you talking about?" asked Sting, "We just fought side-by-side against an enemy neither of us could defeat alone. You risked your life for us. How can we not like you? I mean, you've done some pretty terrible things, but that doesn't matter now. You're part of a good guild. You take care of little kids." He looked to his guild-mates for more support. Rufus stepped forward, "Our memories of you up until now have been rather bitter ones, Minerva, but I think you've done enough hear to make this worth more." With that said, they all turned to Patty. She kicked the rocks at her feet gently as she looked down at them, "Your beef wasn't with me. I wasn't a member when all that took place, but you still hurt my guild-mates, and had I been a member at the time, you probably never would've gotten to even leave Sabertooth. In one piece at least." She was looking steadily at Minerva now, "That being said, I'm glad I wasn't a member then. I'm glad this Minerva got to live, and I hope you continue to live." Minerva smiled as she nodded, "Now, to complete the task I was given..."She said almost passing out from charging her magic as she felt that it nearly drained her of her energy. "Careful now," said Sting as he and the rest of Sabertooth watched Minerva work. They didn't want Fiore to become some terrifying wasteland like Genosha. If that were to happen... well, they tried not to think about that. "So, do you guys mind giving me a hand?" She asked looking at him with a sigh on her face as she looked at the group. "Uh, if we can. Just tell us what to do," said Patty and she and her two companions stepped forward. "Focus your attacks at the specific marking in the middle of the tablet, make sure it's just enough that the stone will be destroyed without worry" She said looking at them. "Alright, lets do this," declared Rufus, "Arrow of the Desert Tomb!" A magic circle appeared in front of him and out shot a spiraling arrow of sand with a green crystal tip. "Luminous Strike!" Patty threw a lightning-covered kunai knife at the tablet. "White Dragon's Roar!" A column of light erupted from Sting's mouth. The sudden strike of the combined attacks eventually caused a powerful shock wave that leveled down some of the nearby trees as of the result from the slab. The group looked at each other as they saw that the pieces eventually flew away into the dust, leaving them alone with only themselves. "I think that did the trick" Minerva told them with a chuckle. After this the four mages all sluggishly strolled back to Sabertooth. Exhausted and barely able to stand after a long day, they didn't bother eating anything or even speaking. They just went straight to their rooms, and collapsed until late into the next morning. Morning came as the same smell of breakfast was in the air as the guild came to find Minerva wrapped in bandages as she had her bag next to her and was ready to head out, "Good morning, I figured I'd make everyone some food before leaving" She said with a kind smile as she continued cooking. "Uh, ya know, you don't have to do all this," said Patty, "You're already hurt. We could've done the cooking." "Yeah, you needn't push yourself to much," agreed Rufus. "Mmmmffrruhmmfrhvrumm," came a noise from the far wall. Propped up at one of the tables against the walls was Sting, who was heavily bandaged on his forearms, chest, head, and mouth. "Haha, well how are you feeling Sting?" Minerva asked with a chuckle on her face. "Mmmruhgmhfmdhn," replied Sting with an annoyed glare. His three comrades gathered around his table and began eating, as well as discussing what they planned to do next. "Well, this food should help you heal, our cooks use Nutrient Magic to make the flavor and recovery time faster" She said putting the last of the plates on the table. The group began to dig into the delicious food, voraciously chowing down like they had done the day before. Once their bellies were full, Rufus leaned against the table and looked at Minerva, "So, what do you intend to do from here?" "Well the task I was sent for is finished, so I'll travel back to the boat I came in and head back home. I'm sure those kids are causing enough trouble for the other caretakers" She said with a kind smile. "I see," replied Rufus. The rest of the day went by slowly, with the four mages each setting to their own tasks. Sooner than expected, the time for Minerva to leave was upon them. But when she walked through the main hall, there wasn't a person to be seen. "Aw well, best it be this way, I'm a reminder that doesn't need to be in the new age" She said sighing before walking towards the door. She opened up and slipped through, then gently closed it, all without making a sound. As she began walking away from the guild hall she heard a familiar voice shout from the roof, "You didn't think you'd leave without telling anyone twice did you?!" Standing on the top of the main hall was Sting, still bandaged, but able to speak, with a delighted smirk on his face. "There's a couple of things that every Sabertooth member needs to remember before they say goodbye," said Patty, who was standing on the left guild hall roof. Minerva's left wrist began to glow, and her Sabertooth tattoo reappeared right where it used to be while she was a member. She looked up at the right guild hall roof to see Rufus grinning at her. "That is proof that even if you may be an entire ocean away and part of a different guild, you still have friends to return to here." Then the three Sabertooth members all said in unison, "Minerva Orlando, mage of the Phantom Breaker Guild, former member of the Sabertooth Guild, we, the senior members of Sabertooth hereby officially relieve of your membership of our guild!" Minerva looked at all three of them, for the first time in her life, she had felt real emotions that came from being in the guild, tears rolled down her eyes as she looked up and smiled at them, "I am happy to be home..." She said laughing. She tearfully bid farewell to her comrades, and as she rode away on the ship that would take her back to Genosha, Sting, Rufus, and Patty all stood on the roofs of Sabertooth, waving goodbye to Minerva. And even though she wasn't a member of Sabertooth anymore, from now on she'd be remembered as Sabertooth's Lady. END Category:Phantombeast Category:Yahoo774 Category:Old Fangs: Saber Reunion Category:Chapters